The long drive to Nairobi

The students have completed their presentations, turned in their papers, and survived the drive from the Mara to Nairobi. 

We passed this on our way.

They've done their last shopping, kissed some giraffes and are finishing up their last Kenyan meal before we head to the airport.

Moving to the Mara triangle

Today we said goodbye our wonderful family at ilkeliani. They made us feel right at home on the banks of the Talek river.

Our drive to the Mara triangle took us past the Kenyan Tanzanian border,

And over the Mara river.  The animals here are very friendly!

Fisi camp

This morning the students worked on collecting the last of their data. Because it's the end of the projects, that meant the groups with visual "threats" were finished with them and could have some fun. So here is morani (Maasai for warrior) walking Charlie the hyena. 

The students also took advantage of this lovely staircase for a shuka (Maasai blanket) prom photo. 

After lunch, we went to fisi (Swahili for hyena) camp where the students learned a bit about the camp and research there, had a Maasai led nature walk, and played volleyball with everyone from fisi camp and our intrepid drivers. 

We ended or last day here relaxing a bit and watch the sun set in true Kenyan fashion. 

 

The staff even made us a going away cake!

Next, we're off to the other side of the park and Serena lodge!

A gorgeous sunrise

Today much of the group went on a hot air balloon ride despite the tons of rain we had last night. Breakfast in the bush was quite the adventure in the tall grass. Luckily, we were able to make it back to camp despite the very muddy roads.

Visit to Talek Primary School

Today we visited Talek Primary Boarding and Day School in Talek, the town closest to the entrance to the park. 

Here are some cool photos from our trip!

This guy was cooking ugali for 800 people. That is a lot of work. 

And, here's a photo of a smiling face for the parents. 

Smammal trapping

Today was a busy day. We collected data on our way to meet with Dr. Kay Holekamp to learn about small mammal (affectionately called smammals) trapping. Here, students laid out live animal traps then weighed, determined the sex, and ear tagged the Nile grass rats that we trapped before releasing them. 

After trapping and lunch, we went to market day in the local town where the students got to practice their haggling skills. So many blankets!  All of you back home will enjoy all your presents. 

Becoming Maasai

Today after a morning of working on experiments, we went to a local Maasai home where the students saw and learned men's and women's dances, saw the inside of a home, learned to make fire, and explored a market. 

They then had the afternoon to relax and work. Afterwards, we went out to conduct experiments, and every car was very lucky and saw a successful hunt!

For dinner, we even had Kenyan cuisine!

Another amazing day in the Mara. 

Daily discussions

Almost every night we discuss a scientific paper on a specific species and a topic on Kenyan culture. This is where we do those discussions. 

The students presented their comparative projects today and we were very impressed! The students found:

- giraffes don't switch feeding on bushes more often in the Mara than soysambu

- buffalo are more vigilant but not more aggressive in the Soysambu than the Mara

- Impalas males with larger harems spend more of their time and energy hearding females

- 0-1 sampling wasn't as cool as everyone thought it was 

- harem sizes do not vary between soysambu and the Mara. 

Hyenas!

We got to see the hyena researchers in action today! This is McDonald, a subadult male. 

First few hours in the Mara

We have We have had some crazy luck in the Mara so far.

We had an amazing dinner last night.

Elephants very close, relaxed and interacting.

This morning we collected data on buffalo with a beautiful sunrise in the background.

Then we ran into some friendly hyenas

Then we ran into some playful cheetahs playing tag.

And two leopards! One moving through the grass and one that is trying out for Africa's next top model.